Afran el Sharek: Tripoli's Local Kaak Provider

Up the street from Zakaria ice cream, which I believe is called Chare3 el Ramel, I came across, Afran el Share2 "?????". The smell coming out of this bakery was mesmerizing... we found ourselves right in front of it. It may not be the finest of spaces displaying bread, but it is rather a factory where hundreds of loafs are produced by the hour...

Everyone is so welcoming in this city. Seeing me taking pictures, I was immediately invited to come in, where I had the chance to follow the process from start to finish.

The loaves are first prepared on wooden boards then sent to another member of staff who covers them with sesame seeds. After that, the dough is allowed to relax for an hour and then it’s over to the oven. The wood oven bakes a row of six, one after the other. You can choose to have a round Kaaka or the collapsed one, like the ones sold on the roads of Tripoli, which are filed with cheese and grilled.

The Kaak is delivered to the cart vendors throughout the city. Those cannot be dangled on a rail since they have no hole, but put them on shelves covered by glass for protection, and better than the plastic one Beiruti's use. You buy the bread and they will fill it with a choice of zaatar or cheese before toasting it on their charcoal grill.

They are sold 5 for a LBP1000. I bought a lot for the kids and continued the tour around the streets of Tripoli where the amount of Kaaks being eaten is impressive. Relax, walking the streets of Tripoli is safe.